The Daily Stoic11 Syys 2019

It’s Okay To Want, But Not To Need

This was a big argument amongst the early Stoics: What was necessary for the good life? What was actually important to the wise man? They came up with a pretty straightforward but almost impossible to obtain answer: All the wise man should care about is virtue. Everything else—money, fame, family, power, sex—was meaningless. Indifferents.

But as the Stoics went off and lived their lives, this explanation had trouble holding up. Really? Nothing matters except virtue? We have to cut every little pleasure and stroke of good luck out of our lives? There’s no material item or position in the world that is useful or helpful to those pursuing or living with wisdom? That doesn’t sound right.

It was Chrysippus who came up with a better formulation. Basically, he said that a better way to think about it was need vs want. If a person needs to be famous or needs to be rich, they are vulnerable and often unhappy. That’s obviously not wisdom. But does a wise person have to actively avoid making money? Must they live in obscurity? That seems silly. The wise man, he said, is in want of nothing, but can have and enjoy plenty. Meanwhile, the fool can make sure of nothing but desperately wants everything.

Isn’t that perfectly said? And isn’t that the perfect admonishment for us today? Make use of everything we have while we have it and gratefully accept what comes our way…but be perfectly content to live without it if it were to disappear.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(3139)

Do This (It’s Good For Your Sanity) | A Garden Is Not For Show

Comfort and convenience are nice, but too much insulation comes at a cost. 🎟️ DAILY STOIC LIVE | Ryan Holiday is coming to a city near you! Grab tickets here | https://www.dailystoiclive.com/🎙️ AD-...

18 Syys 6min

You’re Going To Wish You Did This

Do you write down the important things you read? Do you take the time to understand those “helpful pieces of teaching” and what they could mean for you?Turn the words into works 👉 Read to Lead: A Dai...

17 Syys 2min

Colin Kaepernick, 10 Years After Taking A Knee

Ten years after taking a knee, Colin Kaepernick looks back on the decision that changed his life and cost him more than $150 million. In today’s episode, he sits down with Ryan to discuss navigating t...

17 Syys 1h 18min

You Don’t Need Your Books | 9 Stoic Lessons From Roman Politics

Marcus Aurelius loved to read and tried to always have a text from a philosopher or a playwright or a historian with him. But, as it is for all of us, we don’t always get our way—sometimes life interv...

16 Syys 17min

Time Is a Violent River | Stop Being Surprised By This

Are we doing the work we know we should be doing? Or are we letting hour after hour, day after day, simply drift past us? -- Dr. Becky Kennedy is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and the f...

15 Syys 12min

BONUS: The Advice Ryan Got Before Running His First 50K

Ryan knew running 50 kilometers through Rome would require more than just being in shape. So he turned to Luke Tuttle from the blog Ultra Running Destinations for firsthand advice on how to prepare fo...

14 Syys 25min

We All Need To Be Constrained

We should not get to do everything we want. We should not be surrounded by “yes” men and women. We should not think we are superior to others or exempt from constraints. Watch the full conversation wi...

14 Syys 13min

Running 50 Kilometers Through Rome To Understand Stoicism

Come along with Ryan as he sets out to run farther than he ever has before: 50 kilometers through Rome, past some of the most important Stoic sites in the world.🎥 WATCH RYAN RUN THE STOIC 50K: https:...

13 Syys 22min